Alan Pope wrote:
> 2009/9/25 Chris Simmonds <chris@???>:
>> Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile
>> devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options:
>> Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow -
>> see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD
>> core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux.
>> Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think
>> handset manufacturers will adopt?
>>
>
> Don't forget RIM/Blackberry. However, which platform has the most
> diverse range of handsets from different manufacturers over every
> continent?
>
> Windows Mobile, by margins the others can only dream about.
>
> Having the best technical platform doesn't make it the best platform.
>
> See also: BSB, Betamax etc.
>
> Cheers,
> Al.
Hi Alan,
Actually I very much doubt that MS Windows Mobile has any significant
device support at all. Remember that WM (aka Win CE) is not the Windows
that runs on desktops: they have almost nothing in common. Microsoft
ships WM as an SDK with "sample drivers" but it is up to the OEM to
write the drivers they need for their platform. OEMs very seldom share
those drivers with any one else. Contrast that with Linux which has
good open source driver support for common peripherals, plus very good
support from the chip manufactures (TI, Freescale, Samsung, etc), so it
is now less effort to create a platform based on Linux than WM. Android
plays into the picture by giving (or promising to give) an experience
similar to the iPhone.
RIM/Blackberry is a bit of an oddity. According to Wikipedia, it runs
"Blackberry OS" - an in-house operating system just for this platform.
Not sure where they are going with it outside the corporate niche they
have. It is a rather big niche, but every one else is after it as well now.
So, I stick by my original premise: the future of mobile devices is
Linux. Which is a good thing. It is my hope that as time goes by they
will become more open until we get to the point that you by the phone
and then load whatever software you want onto it - just like a PC. We
are a way off that but there are already some open platforms such as the
Nokia webpads N777-N900 that have already been mentioned in this thread
and of course the OpenMoko.
Bye for now,
Chris.
--
Chris Simmonds 2net Limited
chris@??? http://www.2net.co.uk/
